1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for allocation of data for images in operating memory.
2. Brief Description of the Background of the Invention Including Prior Art
Images displayed on a screen are generated by a device, which outputs data in a form acceptable by a given display. Computer graphic cards or signal processors in digital TV set-top boxes are examples of such systems.
An image generated on a screen can be composed of various elements. It is the task of the graphic system to combine those elements and generate a resulting signal on the screen. These elements may include a text, an image or a video signal. The graphic processor reads the individual elements from a memory and combines them. To make it possible, the elements have to be stored in the memory in a suitable format. For an image, it is usually a set of bytes representing individual points of the image (pixels)—as well as additional information, such as the size of the image. It is a standard procedure to store the image in its entirety, in a single segment of memory, which assures speed and reliability of the image display process. Such an approach is unfortunately inefficient for systems with limited amount of operating memory.